Box-staying machine



(No Model.)

I w A AM m mm M X 0 Patented Mar. 3, 1896.

WITNESSES:

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ITTOHNEY ilnrrnn STATES HORACE INMAN, OF AMSTERDAM, NEW YORK.

BOX-STAYING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 555,815, dated March 3, 1896.

Application filed anuary 23,1896. Serial No. 576,539. (No model!) To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HORACE INMAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Amsterdam, in the county of Montgomery and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Box-Stayin g Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in box-staying machines; and it consists in a peculiar construction, arrangement, and operation of those parts of the machine whereby the staying-strip is attached to the corners of the box.

In order that the general construction and operation of the machine may be more fully understood, I refer to the United States Letters Patent granted to me on the 9th day of April, 1895, No. 537,205, my present invention being applicable to a machine constructed and arranged as the machine therein described is. I will therefore, in this present application, illustrate and describe those parts only which especially appertain to it.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 illustrates a front elevation of the parts of the machine involved in this present invention. Fig. 2 illustrates a side elevation. Fig. 3 illustrates a detail showing the position of the elastic stay-attaching plates when in their lowermost position.

A is a portion of the standard of the machine. Bis the front plate of the slideway for the plunger. C is the plunger. I) is the handwheel in the rear of the machine which moves the anvil and the sliding bar upon which the anvil rests. E is the sliding bar. F is the boxadjusting rod. G is the stop-plate for the front edge of the box. His the anvil or lower die. I is the stationary knife-blade. J is the tilting stay-strip guide. K is a portion of the frame for the pasting or moistening devices. L is the paste or water tank for the pasting devices. M is a portion of the reel which contains the stay-strip. N is the depressing rod or spindle for the tilting stay-guide J. All of these parts are or may be as set forth in my said former patent. I do not particularly describe them nor their operation, because they form 110 essential part of this present invention, excepting that 'the plunger C is caused to reciprocate vertically, as in that patent set forth, and the construction and relative arrangement of the other parts are substantially as set forth in that patent, although it is not necessary that the details of its con struetion should be followed in all cases.

The parts involved in my present invention. are as follows: a is a block of metal, the upper surface of which is attached to the lower end of the plunger 0, and the under surfaces are set, as shown in Fig. 1, at substantially an angle of forty-five degrees relative to each other.

1) b are two plates, preferably five or six inches long, and as wide as the length of the widest stay-strip. Their lower portions lie side by side, as shown in Fig. 1, and the upper portions are bent to conform to the inclination of the lower surfaces of the block a.

c c are short slots made in the inclined up per portion of these plates, and d d are screws or bolts which pass through these short slots and enter theblock a. These screws or bolts are not screwed up tightly so as to clamp the plates 1) b rigidly to the block a, but on the contrary a little space is left between their heads and the surface of the plates, so that slight movement of the plates relative to the block a is possible, and I prefer to round or curve the under surface of the heads of the bolts or screws to facilitate the slight movement referred to.

ff are bolts which pass through openings (see Fig. 2) in the plates, and the under sides of the head and nut of these bolts is likewise rounded and they are not screwed up tightly, but are left somewhat loose, so that a slight yielding of the plates at this point is permitted, they having a slight rocking or pivotal movement upon these bolts. The lower ends of the plates, as at g g, are rounded or beveled off from their insides outwardly, as shown.

h is a finger rigidly attached to the side of one of the plates, which engages with a knifeblade 1', which is pivoted at j to a portion of the frame.

is a spring placed under the knifeblade i, which normally elevates it, its upper movement being stopped by the impact of the rear end of the knife Z against the frame A or in any other suitable way, and the relative arrangement of the parts is such that as the plunger 0 an d the plates Z) Z) descend the movable blade 1' of the cutter will engage with the stationary blade I and commence to sever the projecting end of the stay-strip before the lower beveled or rounded edges of the plates reach the corner of the box, and so that when they do reach it and commence to press the stay-strip upon the corner, at that time the severance of the strip will have been elfected.

The operation of the device is as follows: The appropriate anvil II is placed upon the support E and the roll of stay-strip material is placed in the reel M and the gluing or moistening and feeding devices, and all the adj ustments of the machine having been properly made, as set forth in my said previous patent, a box-blank is placed upon the anvil with its corn er exactly registering with the apex of the anvil H. Thereupon the operator presses the pedal which starts the machine. The plunger 0 now descends, carrying down with it the block a and the elastic plates 1) b, and in their descent the linger h, attached to one of the plates, presses upon the upper edge of the movable knife-blade t, and it is consequently carried downwardly with them, and in its descent it shears off the projecting portion of the stay-strip, which, it will be understood, has been fed forwardly and projects horizontally across the apex of the box-corner. By the time the severance of the staystrip has been effected, or an instant thereafter, the lower beveled or rounded edges of the plates Z) I) come in contact with the stay-strip and bend its laterally-projecting ends over the corner of the box, and, the plunger still descending, the rounded edges of the plates press with great force upon the stay-strip, and are likewise spread apart, being sprung laterally by the downward pressure of the plunger. In this manner they tightly stretch the stay-strip across the upwardly-presented corner of the box, and in their further descent press it with great force upon the sides of the corner of the box adjacent to the apex thereof. Then they have reached their lowermost position, they present the appearance shown in Fig. 3, the box and stay-strip being omitted for greater clearness in the figure. During this downward movement of the parts the plates are held, by reason of the bolts f and the shape of their upper parts, firmly against the block a and rigidly supported thereby. As soon, however, as the plunger commences to ascend, then a slight relaxation of the parts takes place, because the block a tends to move away from the upper end of the plates Z) l), and the screws or bolts (Z (1 move slightly through the short slots 0 c, and there is a slight rocking movement of the plates 7) Z) upon the bolts f. In this manner the strain and pressure occasioned by the springing apart of the plates is largely relieved, so that in their upward movement they do not wrinkle or tend to strip backwardly the stay-strip, and the movable blade dot the knife ascends with the plates and the other parts mentioned,

by reason of the spring-7c, until its rear portion Z en gages with the frame of the machine, whereupon further upward movement is stayed.

I ordinarily prefer to arrange the finger 7t relative to the movable blade 2', so that they will always remain in contact with each other, and I do not permit the part Zof the blade to come in contact with the frame, and I make the spring sufficiently strong not only to lift the blade 2', but also to return the plates 1) b to their normal position in snug contact with the inclined under surfaces of the block a as soon as they have passed away from the corner of the box. Any other means may, however, be supplied for returning the plates to their normal location ready for a second operation.

It will be evident to those who are familiar with this art that modifications may be made in the details of my invention without departing from the essentials thereof. I therefore do not limit myself to such details.

I claim- 1. The combination of a reciprocating plunger, a pair of elastic plates attached thereto, and means for the support of the boxcorner, for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination of a reciprocating plunger, a pair of elastic plates attached thereto, the lower edges whereof are beveled from the inside outwardly, and means for the support of the box-corner, for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination of a reciprocating plunger, a pair of elastic plates attached thereto, a cutting device operated by the descent of the plunger, and means for the support of the box-corner, for the purposes set forth.

4. The combination of a reciprocating plunger, a pair of elastic plates attached thereto, a cutting device one blade whereof is fixed and the other movable, the movable blade being operated by the descent of the plunger, and means to return the movable blade to its elevated position, for the purposes set forth.

5. The combination with abox-cornersupport of a reciprocating plunger, a pair of plates attached thereto, a cutting device, one part of which engages with the plates, and means to return that part and the plates to their normal upward position, for the purposes set forth.

6. The combination of a reciprocating plunger, a pair of plates loosely attached thereto, means loosely connecting the plates to each other, and a support for the box-corner, for the purposes set forth.

'7. The combination with a box-corner sup port of a reciprocating plunger, a pair of plates loosely attached thereto, means loosely connecting the two plates, a cutting device, one blade whereof is connected to the plates, and means for elevating the movable blade of the cutter and through it, the plates, for the purposes set forth.

8. The combination with a box-corner support of a reciprocating plunger, the lower end whereof has downwardly-inclined surfaces, two plates, one of which engages with each of said inclined surfaces, and means connecting the said plates with said beveled surfaces, for the purposes set forth.

9. The combination with a box-corner support of a reciprocating plunger, the lower end whereof has downwardly-inclined surfaces, two plates, one of which engages with each of said inclined surfaces, means connecting the said plates with said beveled surfaces, and additional means connecting the two plates together, for the purposes set forth.

10. In a corner-staying machine, the combination of a plunger, laterally-movable, clastic plates vertically reciprocated by the plunger, and a support for the box, for the purposes set forth.

11. The combination in a box-staying machine of a vertically-reciprocating plunger, laterally yielding elastic plates attached thereto, a support for the box beneath the plates, and stay-feeding devices, for the purposes set forth.

12. The combination in a box-stayiug machine of a vertically-reciprocating plunger, laterally-yielding plates attached thereto, a support for the boxbeneath the elastic plates, stay-feeding and stay pasting or moistening devices, for the purposes set forth.

13. The combination in a box-staying machine of a vertically-reciprocating plunger, laterally yielding elastic plates attached thereto, a support for the box beneath the 

